Mondernised Cinderella
by PaRiS-kItTy
Summary: This Cinderella is written for this century. One chapter only.


Cinderella – by Jacqueline Abela  
It was three am when I finally gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. I called her Cinderella. When I looked at her joy ran through me, I was so happy and she was mine. It wasn't until I remembered who I was married to that all the joy disappeared.  
My husband, Colin, was an alcoholic. We always fought, when he was drunk and sober. He was a very aggressive man when he was drunk; I even got a black eye a couple of times. But it was something about him that made me want to stay with him.  
When I was little I would dream of finding my Prince Charming and live in a big white house with a beautiful garden and long driveway. We would live happily ever after and have lots of money! Colin was a dirty frog, alright, but he didn't turn into any Prince.  
After giving birth to Cinderella I saw all of the possibilities I could have chosen. The better life I could have had with my Prince Charming. When the nurses took Cinderella and left me to rest, I quickly got dressed, grabbed my things and ran out of there.  
I thought I had made the right decision, running away from my old, crap life, finding my Prince and being happy! Well, it's been sixteen years now and I found no Prince.  
I decided that maybe I didn't need a Prince. There was one thing I knew I needed to make my life complete, Cinderella. So, I got in my trashy ute and went to get her.  
I found the address in the white pages. They're living in Melbourne, right where I left them. When I came to the address, I was expecting to see the house I lived in all trashed, but instead I was looking down a long driveway, into a beautiful garden with a big white house. It was exactly how it was in my dreams.  
I was so shocked and confused at the same time that I drove back into town. My plans to go in and get her seemed like such a waste of time. So, I went to the local pub and ordered myself a beer.  
As I was looking into the amber substance, I heard a few men nearby talking about a girl called Cindy.  
"I heard that Cindy sleeps in the dusty attic and is never allowed to see her dad." One man said.  
An older man with a bushy, grey beard sitting on his right said, "Her step-mother has got her in Mandy and Nicole's old hand-me-downs and is making her do all the chores."  
As the men continued talking and shaking their heads at their beers, I became very curious to know if they were talking about my Cinderella.  
"Excuse me," I said, "this girl you're talking about, is it Cinderella?"  
The men nodded.  
"Do you know her?" One asked.  
"She's my daughter." I replied.  
The men were very shocked to hear this as everyone thought that her mother, that I was dead.  
They told me all about what's been happening to Cinderella and what the family is like. Now, I know exactly what to do!  
The next day I parked my car at the bottom of the driveway and walked up to the house, being careful not to be seen. I went to the left side of the house and found a trellis covered in white roses. I followed it up the house and saw at the very top a single window, the attic.  
I carefully climbed up the trellis, being wary of the thorns. I reached the window and quietly opened it. I looked in and saw Cinderella sitting on the floor in tears.  
"I just wish, I wish my mother hadn't died and was here with me." She sobbed.  
"You're mother is far from dead." I said as I climbed in.  
Cinderella jumped at the sound of my voice and cautiously stood up. She slowly backed into the wall keeping her eyes on me.  
"Who are you and what do you want? I've got pepper spray!" She warned.  
"There's no need for pepper spray," I laughed, "Cinderella, it's me! Your mother!" I moved closer to her, but she put her hands up in front of her as a shield.  
"Stay away from me! My mother is dead. She died giving birth to me!" Cinderella said.  
"Is that what Colin told you?"  
Cinderella stared at me cautiously for a while before nodding and putting down her hands.  
"I didn't die. I ran away because...because I wasn't happy with my life."  
Cinderella started to relax a little. She sat down on her bed, thinking. Then she looked up at me with curiosity in her eyes.  
"You weren't happy to have a daughter?" She asked, hurt.  
"No! It wasn't you! I wanted you more than anything! I still do! It was my life with Colin I wasn't happy about."  
I talked some more about why I left and she told me all about her family and how cruel they were to her.  
"Mandy and Nicole are always invited to cool parties, but not me. And they won't even let me go out of the house, except for school. Today they got invited to the best party of the century, hosted by the hottest and most popular boy at school! And I have to sit in my room. They even locked my door. It's not fair!" Cinderella burst into tears again.  
"Cinderella, I can get you to that party." I said.  
"You can?" She lifted her head, eyes wide.  
"Yeah! I mean, they didn't lock the window. And all you need to do is steal some of your sister's clothes and make-up when they leave. Besides, they'll be too drunk to even know that it's you."  
So we sat in her room and waited. Finally Mandy yelled out they were going. I looked out the window and saw Mandy and Nicole get in the back seat of the Mercedes and then a woman and Colin, looking just like a Prince, get into the front.  
It made me wonder whether my life would have turned out like this if I stayed with him, but it wasn't me I had to concentrate on, I was there for Cinderella.  
I found a bent bobby pin on the floor and picked the lock (Colin taught me how to do that) and Cinderella went on her mission.  
Cinderella went to Mandy's room and found a denim mini, black handbag and black stilettos, and then she went into Nicole's room and found her make-up bag and a sparkly, red halter-neck top. She got dressed and instantly looked gorgeous!  
I did her hair and make-up for her as she had never done it before. When she was ready, we climbed out of the window, carefully onto the trellis and climbed down. Then we got in to my trashy ute and I drove her to the party of the century.  
"Now remember," I said as she got out, "be back before midnight."  
Cinderella nodded and walked into the party.  
I waited in my ute for hours, as I wanted to make sure she would be fine. Just as it turned midnight I saw her running out with a boy running after her. She jumped in the ute and we sped off.  
"So, how was it?" I asked.  
"It was great! They didn't even recognise me! And I danced with Josh all night long!" She said dreamily.  
"Josh? The hottest and most popular guy?" I asked and she nodded.  
I parked the car at the bottom of the driveway and we ran to the house and climbed up the trellis and through the window. Cinderella quickly got changed into her normal rags and ran the things back to her sister's room. I took her make-up off as she took her hair out and then I locked the door.  
"Get in the wardrobe!" Cinderella whispered.  
I climbed in and she closed the door and then got into her own bed, pretending to be asleep.  
"Cindy!" Nicole called.  
A key was put into the door and the lock clicked as it was successfully unlocked, Mandy and Nicole came barging into the room. The smell of alcohol filled the room.  
"Back already?" Cinderella asked as she sat up in bed, yawning.  
"It was so great!" Mandy teased, "Josh was so hot, he was even looking at us a lot. Until this girl came."  
"What girl?" Cinderella asked.  
"We don't know!" Nicole replied, "We have never seen her before! Josh was so into her, dancing all night long with her, but when it was midnight she just ran out of there! Very strange."  
"And she left her bag there!" Mandy said.  
"OH NO!" Cinderella gasped.  
Mandy and Nicole looked at her strangely, they suspected that something was up, but were still too drunk to think properly.  
"I mean," Cinderella said, "The girl must be really upset, leaving her bag behind."  
"Well," Mandy said, "Josh is happy that she did. He found her wallet in there which has her address, but for some reason he wouldn't tell us where she lives."  
Cinderella sighed with relief. Mandy and Nicole stood up and left the room. Nicole stuck her head back in the room.  
"Cinds, don't think we're being nice to you by talking to you like this. Coz we're not, you ugly thing." Nicole lifted her head, shut and locked the door and walked off.  
I opened the wardrobe door slightly.  
"Is the coast clear?" I whispered.  
Cinderella nodded her head. I crept out of the wardrobe and sat on the end of her bed.  
"So, what do I do now?" Cinderella asked.  
"Get some rest." I said.  
She had made me a little bed in the corner of the room. That way if someone comes in I'll have enough time to hide.  
I got under the sheets and very quickly fell asleep.  
The next morning I woke up at the sound of knocking. I didn't realise what it was until I looked out the window. It was Josh, the boy from the party, with Cinderella's bag. Well, Mandy's, but anyway.  
I opened the window quietly, Cinderella was still asleep.  
"What are you doing?" I whispered harshly.  
"I've come to see Cinderella." He replied.  
Cinderella woke up yawning and stretching her arms.  
"What's going on?" She asked, dazed.  
"Hi Cinderella." Josh said, smiling.  
Cinderella sat up in bed, rubbed her eyes than looked to the window. When she saw Josh there her eyes opened wide.  
"Josh? What are you doing here?" She asked.  
"I had to see you. You ran off last night and I wanted to see you. You left this." Josh passed her bag over.  
"I think I'm going to leave you two alone." I said.  
I let Josh climb in and I climbed out. I went and sat on her chair near the trellis. An hour went by until I heard Cinderella scream. Josh came scrambling down the trellis. He was about to make a run for it, but I grabbed his arm.  
"What happened up there?" I asked.  
"Cinderella's mum came into the room and freaked when she saw me there. She has Cinderella locked up in the basement now as a punishment." He said before running off.  
I went to the front door and stormed in. Colin was in the hallway. When he saw me he froze, shocked.  
"Amanda?" He asked.  
"You're wife has locked my daughter in the basement!" I said angrily.  
"What? That's preposterous!" He said.  
"Oh is it? When was the last time you saw her? You haven't seen her since you married that witch. She's been making sure you never see her. I was in her room last night. They have the door locked, they have her wearing rags. And who do you think keeps this house clean and does the dirty work?"  
"The maids of course."  
"The maid is Cinderella."  
"I'm sorry; I don't believe one word of it."  
"Then why don't you find out for yourself?"  
I grabbed his wrist and found my way down to the basement. Cinderella's step mother was there locking the door.  
"Jade? What on earth are you doing?" Colin asked, shocked.  
"I was just putting that old vacuum cleaner away." Jade smirked.  
"You mean my daughter!" I fumed.  
"Amanda-" Colin started.  
"Amanda is it? Oh, so this is the woman who ran away after giving birth to the little brat?" Jade said.  
I was so angry; I slapped her in the face. She just looked at me wide eyed, her mouth open. I pried the keys out of her hand and unlocked the basement door.  
"Cinderella!" I called down the dark stairs.  
I couldn't see anything but darkness.  
"Mum!" Cinderella called.  
Then I heard footsteps running, and there was Cinderella with a smile on her face. She jumped into my arms and gave me a huge hug!  
"Dad?" Cinderella stared at Colin.  
"Cinderella? I haven't seen you since you were a little girl!" Colin took her into his arms, tears streaming down his face.  
Now, I'm living in my dream home – a big white house with a beautiful garden and long driveway! I have my Prince Charming and a gorgeous daughter.  
As for Jade, she's in gaol for imprisonment of Cinderella and her two daughters are in foster homes.  
Cinderella can now live freely and is dating her own Prince Charming, Josh, and we all lived Happily Ever After.  
  
The End 


End file.
